Stoke City v Newcastle United match preview.
Posted on March 18th, 2011 | 76 Comments |
Newcastle go into the game two points and two places above “The Potters” of Stoke City, and manager, Alan Partridge Pardew will be looking to “bounce back” after a disappointing defeat against Everton a fortnight ago. However Stoke will be looking to take advantge of their renowned home advantage. They have recently taken 10 out of 12 points in their recent home games, with away form being their biggest bugbear.
Alan Pardew said of the upcoming fixture:
“We are looking forward to the game. When you have two weeks off in Premier League it can be difficult to focus.
“So we are trying to make sure the players are ready for what will be a tough, tough game.”
Speaking on Stoke’s rather ‘direct’ approach to the game, including their reliance on set plays and the huge throw of Stoke midfielder, Rory Delap, he observed:
“It is a big statistic, how much they score from set plays, and the throw-ins add to that.”
“It is an unbelievable throw and you have to cope with it.
“That is the great thing about the Premier League – you have different flavours. And this flavour tests your character.
“But we have shown all along in this team that we have good character, so I don’t doubt that.”
He also hinted that Stoke’s direct manner of play may cause him some headaches in terms of selection. Starting on the subject of Stoke defender, Robert Huth, and his effectiveness at set pieces which have made him the club’s second highest goalscorer this season despite his defensive role, Pardew said:
“He (Huth) is particularly forceful for them, particularly at set plays.”
“You have to be wary of your match selection that you can cope, and there’s not many teams who can go there with their normal team and be able to dominate.
“Someone like Man Utd may be able to, but can we do that? I don’t know. But we will make sure we defend those set plays because they will be coming.”
“It is a tough game. Stoke have found some great form.
“The job Tony has done there and the way they play make it very difficult for you.
“The pitch is small, so their set plays become more accurate and that is something you have to cope with.
“We will make sure that we can handle their strengths and then play our own game. We can’t get too distracted by that.”
Meanwhile, Stoke City manager, Tony Pulis, who’s team face an FA. Cup semi final against Bolton on April 17th, said that his side must not take their focus off their Premier League season, including what he described as a “tough” clash against The Magpies. He had this to say on the game:
“It’s very, very important for the football club that we stay focused on the league and we’ve got a very, very tough game on Saturday against Newcastle. We’ve got to win it.
“They’ll be up for it and what we’ve got to do is generate the same atmosphere we generated the other day against West Ham, both on the pitch and off the pitch. The support from both sides made the cup tie what it was, and that was a very, very exciting game.
Team news
Injuries have undoubtedly been the biggest concern for Alan Pardew over the past few weeks. Looking forward to the Stoke game, he said of the injury situation:
“It’s been a productive two weeks in terms of people have got some rest.
“Our injury issue is not behind us, but it has eased a little bit. We think Joey (Barton) has a good chance, he took part in the warm-up today.
“Jose Enrique looks very doubtful, Jonas (Gutierrez) did the warm-up but also looks a bit doubtful. Nile Ranger is fine, so we are okay.”
Nothing there about recent signings, Stephen Ireland and Ryan Gosling, who will almost certainly be be out. Though Gosling was a permanent signing, the wisdom of signing Stephen Ireland on a short term loan is starting to look rather questionable, as it’s starting to look like the season will be almost over before he finally attains fitness.
Of course, Hatem Ben Arfa and Alan Smith will continue their long injury layoffs, and Ryan Taylor will serve the second game of his three match suspension following a sending off in Newcastle’s game against Bolton. Fianally, Nile Ranger should be alright after missing the Everton game with a slight knock.
On the Stoke side, it looks like big striker, John Carew, will be a major doubt as he still seems to be carrying a back problem sustained in The Potters FA. Cup Qurter final match against West Ham. Asmir Begovic should also be returning in goal after making way for Thomas Sorensen in the aforementioned up quarter final.
Match facts:
Stoke have yet to lose to Newcastle in the Premier League, with the last gane between the two sides being a rare 1-2 away win to Stoke at St James’s Park. The rest have been draws.
Both sides have found wins hard to come by recently. Despite Stoke’s recent home form mentioned above, they have only won one of their last seven games, failing to score at all in five of those. On the other hand, Newcastle’s record is even worse on that score, as they have won only one of their last eight Premiership games, a 0-2 win away against Birmingham City.
Howay the Lads!
Venue: Brittania Stadium, Stoke
Kick off: Sat, 19th March 2011, 3.00PM.
NUFCBlog Author: workyticket
workyticket has written 1078 articles on this blog.
I’ll be very happy if this injured in a train wreck hobble of a Toon team can sneak a point in that ping-pong table sized pitch.